Monday, August 5, 2013

Swag Or No Swag...

So most of you are writers, and some of you are readers. A lot of you are both, so hopefully we'll get some good feedback from this particular discussion.

People new to the writing world are being asked to give away some 'swag' (swag being cute little promotional items such as bookmarks, keychains, etc.) with their book promotions/launches. As a person who collects far too much junk (crap), I often don't want the swag. There are some people out there who don't like collecting things like this, but there are some who do.

Personally, I don't mind getting a small business card or even bookmark that I can keep in my wallet in my purse. I have a tendency to get a bit overwhelmed in bookstores. (OOoooooh the smell of BOOKS!!!) So when I'm trying to recall an author's name I've recently read to check for any more books, I get a little irritated. So. Business card would be GREAT in this instance. Just keep it on my person and voila! I can find more books with ease.

But there are people out there who love the little bits of swag that comes with book promotions/launches. When you are debating the Swag or No Swag question, you can't really take your personal feelings about Swag (crap) into consideration. There are readers who WANT that stuff. But what do you do when you have little or no promotional budget?

There are a couple places to get up to 250 free business cards, but you have to pay the minimal shipping fee. There is also Cafe Press and Zazzle. You can create stuff your readers might like to buy, once they become a fan. But bookmarks are always a winner. Keychains, you could design some on those above mentioned websites and then order some if you have the funds. They tend to be a little pricey, though, so beware. But you can keep a storefront open and maybe make a little bit of money from your book stuff to fund your book promotion budget.

So what are your thoughts on Swag? Yes, no or could care less either way? Do you like getting cute little things to remember this new author by or do you not want the crap cluttering up your house?

6 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Considering I am offering some swag today, I guess my answer would be yes.

D.G. Hudson said...

I like bookmarks and business cards as you do. That's usually what I pick up at a conference.

A friend of mine also made her own book bags which could be stencilled with designs. She kept it simple.

Jai said...

I can see how a business card would be beneficial I would say yes to that.

Also I just finished reading Adversarius, Shadow of the Rose: Book One. Oh my gosh it was wonderful. When is the second book coming out. I can't wait!!

Mel Chesley said...

Woo! A little late to my own party today, had a two hour long power outage. Maybe it was three, I was reading on my kindle.

Alex, good to know! And D.G., book bags, that's an awesome idea!

Jai! What a great surprise! I'm almost done with book two, but my move is interfering with writing at the moment. But I am very close to being done. :)

Unknown said...

Not a big fan of swag. Just more clutter in my wallet or piled on my table.

Unknown said...

Bookmarks and postcards are good with me, otherwise book swag doesn't bother me all that much. So long as the book is good then I'm good :)